She went to war

Text written by artist and based on stories about lives of 2nd world war heroines from Bosnia and Herzegovina from the book Women Heroes (Žene heroji), edited by Mila Beoković in 1967.

Audio work consists of music and narration. Famous German Fascist song slowly changes into Antifascist song from Yugoslavia and changes back into the previous one.

Book Women Heroes (life stories of Bosnian WWII women heroes edited in 1967) and classwork in creative writing on the subject of People’s Liberation War. Paper with classwork written by some young Yugoslav pupil probably in the 80s, was found inside the book that was bought on a flea market. It is addressing Lepa Radić, one of the women whose lives are described in the book, awarded with Order of the People’s Hero, after WWII and executed age only 17.

Text written and narrated by artist:

She joined the People’s Liberation Movement because that was the movement against Fascism. She joined the People’s Liberation Movement because she wanted freedom for her people. She joined the People’s Liberation Movement because she wanted freedom for herself. She joined the People’s Liberation Movement because she was promised that: “the movement will bear fruit for the women of Yugoslavia too, and no one would ever be able to seize those hard-earned accomplishments from their hands”. She joined the People’s Liberation Movement because she was told that it was a movement for the equality of women.

She went to war because she was a patriot. She went to war following her father and her brothers. She went to war to escape from her father and her brothers. She went to war because war meant freedom for her.

She believed that when the war came to an end, women would be equal in decision making concerning the social sphere. She believed that when the war came to an end, women would have an equal share in government. She believed that when the war came to an end, women would be awarded for their merits.

She believed that her struggle would win freedom for other women too. She believed she was a Comrade to her male Comrades. She believed that brotherhood and unity was unity not only of brothers, but of brothers and sisters. She didn’t know that the struggle against Fascism would not be over after the struggle against Fascism.

By physical strength and endurance, no man was equal to her. She fulfilled all the assignments with much enthusiasm and assiduousness. She was considered to be the most revolutionary member of her group. From her red silky skirt that she wore only once she sewed the flag, and on it, in yellow thread she embroidered the sickle, the hammer and the star. Once when she was assigned to be an army cook, she felt offended. She was mortally wounded while saving a wounded Comrade. On the stretcher, on the way to the hospital, she sang their combat songs.

She wasn’t gratified a heroine in her lifetime. She wasn’t gratified a heroine after she died. The square that used to be named after her now has a different name. The school that used to be named after her now has a different name. A bust of her no longer sits on its pedestal. There is no name written on her grave. On her grave it says: “Unknown Partisan woman”.Ona se pridružila Narodnooslobodilačkoj borbi jer je to bila borba protiv fašizma. Ona se pridružila Narodnooslobodilačkoj borbi jer je htjela slobodu za svoj narod. Ona se pridružila Narodnooslobodilačkoj borbi jer je htjela slobodu za sebe. Ona se pridružila Narodnooslobodilačkoj borbi jer su joj govorili “da ta borba mora donijeti ploda i za žene jugoslavije i da više nikada niko neće moći istrgnuti te skupo plaćene plodove iz njihovih ruku”. Ona se pridružila Narodnooslobodilačkoj borbi jer su joj govorili da je to borba za ravnopravnost žena.